Trackhouse Racing finds misfortune despite its speed at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego on Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series
A disappointing finish defined the day for Trackhouse Racing in NASCAR’s inaugural event at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego’s street course race Sunday afternoon.
Trackhouse Racing Finds Misfortune
Coming into the race weekend, Trackhouse Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen was ranked as the clear favorite to win, with fellow teammate Connor Zilisch trailing behind him in second, according to NASCAR and sportsbooks.
Ultimately, 23XI Racing part-time driver Corey Heim defied the odds, earning his first career victory after entering the weekend ranked around 24th by FOX Sports.
The afternoon looked promising for Trackhouse, with Shane van Gisbergen capturing his sixth career pole at yet another road/street course, while Zilisch qualified eighth.
Notably, former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen would make his NASCAR debut for Trackhouse’s Project 91 part-time race program. The Denmark-born racer joined the initiative, which fields the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro in select races for “globally renowned international racing stars.” Since its launch in 2022, Project 91 has featured drivers like Kimi Räikkönen, Daniil Kvyat, Hélio Castroneves, Shane van Gisbergen, now a full-time Cup Series driver for Trackhouse and seven-time race winner, and Magnussen, who’d start his first race in 21st.
Finally, Ross Chastain, driving the full-time No. 1 entry, started the race in a slightly underwhelming 24th.
How Trackhouse Finished
Shane van Gisbergen lost the lead in the opening stage to the likes of Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney, but it was clear he was simply managing the race and gathering information rather than it being a reflection of his speed.
Van Gisbergen forwent points in both stages in favor of maximizing track position for the final stage. The strategy initially positioned Trackhouse for a stellar afternoon, but it would completely unravel towards the end of Stage 2. The strategy briefly paid dividends for Trackhouse rookie Connor Zilisch, who led his first career Cup Series laps in Stage 2 and became the youngest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to lead a lap on a road/street course. However, any hopes of a dream finish evaporated on a chaotic lap 32 restart.
Going three-wide into the narrow bottleneck of the first turn, Austin Hill locked up his brakes, misjudging the corner, and hit Connor Zilisch, sending him into polesitter Shane van Gisbergen and the wall in a massive impact that triggered a multi-car crash. The heavy impact brought out a red flag and ended the day for both Trackhouse entries in an instant. The No. 97 of Shane van Gisbergen finished the race in 38th with no stage points, and the No. 88 of Connor Zilisch finished just one spot above him in 37th.
The afternoon did not go any smoother for Trackhouse’s Project 91 guest star, Kevin Magnussen. The Formula One veteran found himself in the center of the day’s most heated drama following multiple on-track run-ins with Noah Gragson. The two drivers first made contact on lap 25 while racing for 32nd. The dispute reached its conclusion late in Stage 2 when Magnussen drove deep into the fourth turn, tagging the right-rear of Gragson’s No. 4 Ford and sending him hard into the concrete barriers with race-ending damage.
The tension boiled over on pit road after the race, where an irate Noah Gragson confronted Kevin Magnussen over the incident that ended Gragson’s day. The exchange quickly became heated.
Gragson: “What the [expletive] is your problem? … You guys come over here, you [expletive] drive off into the corner just because you got fenders on it.”
Magnussen: “Get the [expletive] out of my face.”
Gragson: “Why did you wreck me?”
Magnussen: “I told you. You were in the wrong. You found out.”
Gragson: “What does that mean?”
Magnussen: “You [expletive] around… and you found out.”
Despite the incident and a disappointing 27th-place result, Magnussen displayed undeniable pace. In the closing laps of the event, the Formula One veteran clocked the fastest lap of the entire race, officially setting the inaugural track record on the temporary San Diego layout with a blistering time of 2:12.485 (132.49 seconds).
Trackhouse Race Results
7th — #1 Ross Chastain
27th — #91 Kevin Magnussen
37th — #88 Connor Zilisch
38th — #97 Shane van Gisbergen
While Ross Chastain quietly battled his way through the chaos to salvage a modest seventh-place with three stage points, the overall weekend leaves a bitter taste for the organization. The hardest pill to swallow centers around the devastating playoff implications for Shane van Gisbergen. Widely expected to lock himself into the postseason on the road and street circuits, the DNF at San Diego has officially dropped van Gisbergen below the last postseason spot. The New Zealand driver leaves San Diego 17th in the standings, five points behind the Chase cutline held by 16th-place Ryan Preece. The current situation seemed like an unfathomable scenario for the No. 97 team, leaving a track type that was supposed to be their ultimate safety net, but for Trackhouse, it has become an unfortunate reality
Points Standings (Behind The Chase Cutline)
17th — #97 Shane van Gisbergen (-5)
22nd — #1 Ross Chastain (-40)
34th — #88 Connor Zilisch (-202)
Trackhouse Racing will be forced to quickly erase the memory of the San Diego harbor as they head north to Sonoma Raceway next weekend, desperately searching for redemption and points.
While SVG and Zilisch will yet again be viewed as favorites this weekend, Trackhouse Racing will need to step it up this week if its drivers want any chance of making the postseason.
Watch the Race at Sonoma Raceway
The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Sonoma on Sunday, June 28th. The Toyota Save Mart 350 starts at 3:30 pm ET on TNT, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. HBO Max is offering several driver views. Shane van Gisbergen is the defending winner.